Abadia de Cadouin

A very pretty Little village surrounds the gargantuan Cadouin Abbey. A massive yellow sandstone monolith stands achingly over the little town square and market shed.  With its oak shingled bell tower, a sign if it's austere Cistercian hereditary, it has been tolling across the valley since the middle of the 12th century. Today it feels as if it may have seen better days. It's delapidated, decaying and even collapsing in some areas. Its huge size is its own peril as the cost to renovate is equal in its enormity. Part of the Abbey is now a youth hostel so there is some income but clearly the decay will win the race. The gothic cloisters are partly renovated and are pleasant to walk around although one feels the repaired carvings and columns and mouldings are somewhat disingenuous compared to the authenticity of the remainder. Catch 22 really.

The funny thing about Cadouin Abbey is a lesson in religious tolerance. Or intolerance really. For many hundreds of years Cadouin was an integral destination for religious pilgrims and was included on a number of pilgrimages even by Richard the Lionheart during the middle ages. All due to a piece of cloth thought to be the shroud that was wrapped around the head of Jesus when he lay in the tomb after the crucifixion. Hundreds of years went by with many, many millions of pilgrims making their way to Cadouin to witness the Holy Shroud and do what had to be done when you walk a thousand kilometres to catch a glimpse of something that resembles a large table cloth. Every few hundred years there would be a big hullabaloo with all sorts of church hierarchy and experts brought to Cadouin to vouch for the authenticity of the shroud. Possibly to ensure the continuation of the ongoing pilgrimages, as they would have brought in a tidy sum to the church coffers. This went on for centuries.

Well, in the 1930s another group of experts determined the shroud couldn't possibly be the shroud that covered Jesus's head as the design and the thread count and everything else about it indicates the fabric was from the 12th century and actually Muslim in origin. From that day on, immediately, Cadouin Abbey was struck off the pilgrims list as it couldn't be seen proper to pay homage to a piece of cloth of Muslim heritage. Tolerance or intolerance? Nothing has changed when it comes to religious ideology and respect. It's been happening for ever and undoubtedly will do so for eternity. Religion has no master and has fewer friends; not sure if someone said that or I made it up. But the point of the matter is how can religion be seen as the saving grace when it's been getting it wrong for so long.

The other aspects if Cadouin was the very fine coq au vin we had for lunch in a tiny little bistrot in the shadows of the Abbey. The Abbey itself was a bastide and was surrounded by a walk for protection during the medieval period. There is only one piece of the wall still in existence today. The Abbey is know registered on the UNESCO World Heritage listing as part of the pilgrimage route to the Compostela.

The Front if the church. The pic doesn't do justice to the enormity

A view from the hill if the church front and sdjoing Abbey

The village if Cadouin lies between two hills in a peaceful valley

Inside the Abbey the renovated cloisters

The cloister garden where the Cistercian monks grew medicinal herbs. You can see the Oak shingled Bell Tower behind. 

Inside the church that is now collapsing in parts. 

The only real artwork in the whole church above the naive. Much of the original artefacts were removed during the 100 year war. 

Theses three windows are depictions if the authenticity assessments done every few hundred years to verify the veracity of the shroud's legitimacy. 

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The shroud itself. Well a facsimile of the shroud that is now kept in a fault in Perigeaux museum

Coq au Vin with buttered tagliatelle

Mousse au Chocolat